“But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 (BSB)

“…But few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:42 (NIV)

The Christmas season is upon us. “Tis the season to be jolly” right? The season of holiday cheer, laughter and excitement. So why does it feel like the season to be stressy for some?

An article on yougov.co.uk from last Christmas notes that for 45% of Britons, Christmas is normally a stressful experience. 62% of mums find Christmas at least fairly stressful, while for dads and women who don’t have children, the figures are 44% and 45% respectively.

Another survey by Healthline, referenced by Harvard Medical School, states that 62% of respondents described their stress level as “very or somewhat” elevated during the holidays. Only 10% of respondents stated they had no stress during the Christmas season.

Why all the festive stress though? What’s the cause? Possibly financial pressures, comparisons, buying gifts, hosting pressures from hosting relatives, friends, loved ones, all the meal planning and preparation involved, and the pressure to make sure that everything turns out as perfectly as possible.

The challenge with this is, everything may be perfect on the outside but on the inside, it is anything but perfect. Christmas cheer may be evident in our homes, but not our hearts. And weariness instead of wonder defines our experience of the season. However, it is important to ask, is this what Jesus would want for us as we celebrate Him?

There was someone else in the Bible who faced a similar challenge in preparing for an important occasion, one also involving celebrating Jesus by hosting Him. In Luke 10:38-42, Martha and Mary were expecting some very important visitors, Jesus and His disciples. Two women, same situation, two very different responses.

Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to what He taught (verse 39). “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made” (verse 40a, BSB).

What did Martha do next? “She came to Jesus and said, ““Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” (verse 40b).

Then Jesus responded, ““Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; but one thing is necessary, only one; for Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Verses 41-42, BLB)

Or as the NIV puts it, “Mary has chosen what is better”. The MSG translation even manages to weave in a pun there, “One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it – it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

I won’t ask you what course or portion you’ve chosen in Christmases past, but I would like you (and me) to reflect on what choice we want to make this Christmas.

I’ve written about this in a previous post, but I will highlight it here again. It is helpful to note that Jesus was not chastising Martha for serving them, as this is sometimes wrongly interpreted. Rather He was concerned about her being worried, being “anxious and troubled about many things.”

As such, this is NOT saying that you should not make a lovely meal or host people and do all the other Christmas planning and preparation. What it is saying is that if we are worried or stressed or anxious about whatever we are planning to do, we need to take a step back and ponder on if we are letting the main thing be the main thing this Christmas, or if we are majoring on minors and minoring on majors. It might be worth noting that simplicity can indeed be joyful, memorable and as a bonus, stress-free.

Jesus does not want us stressed or anxious or worried while celebrating Him. In fact, He expressly tells us not to be worried or anxious (Matthew 6:25-34, Philippians 4:6-7). If we truly believe Jesus is the reason for the season and we want to celebrate Jesus, then what better way can we celebrate our Saviour than by doing what He says and by reflecting who He is to others. Can we do this in the best way possible if we are stressed or anxious? Personally I don’t think I can.

I learned such a great lesson from someone recently that may be helpful for you as you think about this. It has certainly been helpful for me, not just in the context of Christmas, but in my life generally. I will try to do a blog post on it one day, but the summary is that if we want to know whether or not we are doing more than God wants us to, we should look at the fruit we are producing.

In other words, as we do our planning and preparation, are we still evidencing the fruit of the Spirit? Are we loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle and exhibiting self-control? (Galatians 5:22-23). Or are we being worried, anxious, irritable, angry, impatient, unkind, agitated?

If the former, then keep calm and carry on (and well done!). If the latter though, then we might need to reconsider what is essential and what is not. I have to admit that I have probably been in the latter camp recently, so I am very keen on moving on to the former ASAP!

So how do we do so? I believe that the best way to ensure that we are continuously evidencing the fruit of the Spirit is by doing what the one who chose the good portion did, which is spending time with Jesus. We may not be able to literally sit at Jesus feet like Mary did just yet, but we can still welcome and be attentive to His presence. We can meditate on His Word and commune with Him, allowing Him to feed us, work in us and transform us.

Communing with Jesus doesn’t just involve praying about the ‘serious’ stuff. Involve Him in your planning and preparations to celebrate Him, just like you would involve a friend right next to you whose party you are planning. That is, unless you were planning a surprise party, although it’s not like we can surprise Jesus anyway! As such, let Him be a part of your daily chatter, your moments of joy, frustration, upset, eureka, wonder, calm, quiet… all of it.

Worship is another powerful way to welcome His Spirit. I feel much more conscious of His presence when I am worshipping (song worship) or even just listening to a worship song. And not just in a goosebumps-effect kind of way, but in a if-you-really-believe-God-is-present-here-how-will-you-act kind of way. This is because worship reminds me of who Jesus is and His character, and as I reflect on who He is, I am also reminded that I am called to imitate Him. We are called to imitate Him. (See John 13:12-15; 34-35; 1 Corinthians 11:1, Ephesians 5:1-2, Philippians 2:3-8, 1 Peter 2:21). The more aware we are of this and the more we live it out, the more our minds are renewed (Romans 12:2). As this happens, we are transformed into people who truly celebrate Jesus and reflect who He is to a world that so desperately needs Him.

However, it starts with a choice. Mary made the better choice, to spend time learning from and about The One who loved her, The One whom she loved, The One she wanted to host and celebrate. What choice are you making today? Can we make this Christmas one that truly celebrates Jesus and what He came to Earth to do?

It is worth remembering that one option is temporary, and the other, the good option, “cannot be taken away.” At the end of the day, the meals we spend ages planning and preparing for, as lovely as they may be, will only have physical, temporal value, but the meals we feast on in Jesus’ presence will have spiritual, eternal value.

As we plan and prepare for Christmas (and even beyond), I pray that God helps us to choose the better option. The option of spending time with Jesus, of communing with Him and letting Him transform us, so that we can truly reflect Him to our world. May our celebration of Jesus this season not be marked by stress, worry or anxiety. May it instead be marked by his love, peace and joy radiating from us… a love that makes us see people through His grace and compassion-filled eyes, a peace that no worries or anxious thoughts can shift or unsettle, and a joy that comes from the confident assurance that irrespective of what we may have or not have, when we have Jesus, we have the best ever portion! Amen and Amen.

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